NA session: PPP demand major cut in fuel prices

Says prices have come down in the international market

ISLAMABAD:

After Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) chief Imran Khan, Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah has also demanded further reduction in the petroleum prices.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Friday, Khurshid Shah said prices of petroleum have further reduced in the international market to $75 per barrel. “Therefore, the government should further slash the petrol and diesel prices by at least Rs15,” he said.

“You should extend some relief to the poor public,” Shah advised the government, adding that lower cost of production can ensure relief to poor formers.



Responding to Shah, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad said the government has already reduced POL prices and it would further ensure considerable reduction. “We will ensure reduction in prices by more than Rs15,” he said.

The PTI chairman Imran Khan had claimed credit for the reduction in fuel prices and had demanded a further cut while addressing the participants of his sit-in in Islamabad.

Shah said his party – Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – also criticised the government, particularly for its agriculture sector and privatisation policies. “But we want to ask the PTI to make a distinction between the government and the state.

“To call for civil disobedience, to encourage money transfer without tax deduction (hundi), and to enter the restricted areas and attack the sacred buildings are things which are not acceptable to us,” he said.

Shah said the government was facing numerous challenges including load-shedding, price hike and terrorism but the agriculture sector needs urgent attention as more than 65% population is associated with this sector.

Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Bosan confessed that agriculture sector was worst hit because of unavoidable factors. Citing reasons, the minister said China had refused to purchase cotton this year due to which farmers were facing huge losses.



He said not only cotton industry but the country could face more serious issues in case of rice, seed and maze crops. “Yes, by lowering down the cost of production, this issue can be resolved,” the minister said.

Boson, however, made it clear that it is purely a provincial subject and requested Shah to establish his contact with the Sindh government on this issue.

Marketing of haram items

Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq referred a separate matter related to sale and purchase of prohibited (Haram) edible items in the country to National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Science and Technology.

The issue was taken up by lawmakers from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F). The JUI-F MNA Aliya Kamran claimed that in markets of the capital, jellies and toffees were available with recipes carrying alcohol and pig-fat as ingredients.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman also spoke on this issue and asked the speaker to take immediate action. “None of us can oppose this motion,” the speaker said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2014.